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Intermediate Technical Writing
Covers headings, lists, notices, highlighting, and tables.
This second course, Intermediate Technical Writing, in the technical-writing certificate teaches you the standards expected in the technical-publishing industry and how to uphold the same. It is suitable for those who have had some on-the-job experience as well as those who have taken Introduction to Technical Writing for Industry. Intermediate Technical Writing may be taken alone or as part of the sequence of courses leading to a certification in technical writing.
This Course introduces you to basic page-design guidelines, such as headings, lists, tables, notices, and highlighting. You'll learn and be expected to use standard design, format, and style for these page-design elements in the documents you write for this course.
Once you study the page-design units, you will complete and exercise that involves writing a set of instructions in which you use these guidelines and also maintain the general standards for good writing as well. You'll e-mail this exercise to your instructor who will review, evaluate and mail them back. If any revisions are suggested, you will do so and mail it back. This learning process helps you improve and produce high quality writing work.
Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
A. State good design practices for headings, lists, notices, graphics, tables, and highlighting.
B. Recognize common problems involving headings, lists, notices, graphics, tables, and highlighting.
C. Use standard design, format, and style of headings, lists, notices, graphics, tables, and highlighting in their writing projects.
D. State the common design and structure of written instructions.
E. Use headings, lists, notices, graphics, tables, and highlighting effectively in written instructions.
F. Perform audience and task analysis before preparing to write instructions.
G. Create instructions that focus on reader tasks, that explain actions clearly and that use an effective design enabling readers to accomplish their tasks.
Assessment:
Assessment will be basedonQuizzes on headings, lists, notices, tables, and highlighting. Instructor review and acceptance of the instructions and recommendation report are also included..
Activities
The Activities are aimed at building up the skills of the student to produce high quality technical writing work. They consist of readings, exercises, and quizzes on headings, lists, notices, tables, graphics, highlighting; and then readings, exercises, quizzes, and examples focused on instructions. They also include writing and revising (as necessary) a set of instructions that apply the standards for design, format, and style covered in the units on headings, lists, notices, tables, graphics, highlighting and
instructions.
Throughout the course students will receive in-depth feedback from the instructor on assignments and may discuss any issues related to technical writing with the instructor.
BEFORE THE CLASS BEGINS
Introductions and start-up: To begin the course, you will fill out an online schedule and questionnaire, specifying your own due dates for the units included in this course. Doing so will generate your own web-page schedule with links to all the assignments, readings, exercises, and related information. You'll receive an e-mail introduction from your instructor and will then send e-mail introducing yourself. At your request, you can meet with your instructor in a chat room designed for this course.
Week 1:
Headings and lists. In more or less the first week of this course, you will study headings and lists, using the online textbook and other resources and then take quizzes on these two topics to ensure your understanding of them. Your instructor automatically receives your quiz results and is available by e-mail or at the chat room to answer any questions you may have.
Week 2 :
Special notices and graphics: In more or less the second week of this course, you will study notices and graphics, using the online textbook and other resources and then take quizzes on these two topics to ensure your understanding of them. Your instructor automatically receives your quiz results and is available by e-mail or at the chat room to answer any questions you may have.
Week 3 :
Tables and highlighting: In more or less the third week of this course, you will study tables and highlighting, using the online textbook and other resources and then take quizzes on the two topics to ensure your understanding of them. Your instructor automatically receives your quiz results and is available by e-mail or chat room to answer any questions you may have.
Week 4 :
Writing project: (Weeks 4-instructions). In the final two to three weeks of this course, you'll put what you've learned about headings, lists, notices, graphics, tables, and highlighting to work in a set of instructions. You'll use readings, exercises, and examples from the online textbook as well as other resources. Your instructor will be available to discuss your ideas and plans for the instructions project. You'll send your instructions by e-mail to your instructor who will review, comment on, and return them back via mail. You'll then revise accordingly, e-mailing your instructor if you have any questions. If all goes well, your instructor will approve your revised instructions (if any revision is necessary), and you'll have successfully completed the course.
Week 5 :
Instructions project--continued
Week 6 :
Instructions project--continued
Week 7 :
Wrap-up; extra time, if needed.
Week 8 :
Wrap-up; extra time, if needed.
Instructor: David McMurrey
Biography:
Ph.D. in comparative literature from Univ. of Texas; teaching technical writing since 1978; published three textbooks on writing and technical writing; worked 11 years as writer/editor for IBM in new products areas; full-time faculty at Austin Community College, coordinating online offerings of for-credit courses and coordinating ACC's webmaster program.
Look for this course KSA 234 and other Tech Writing, Certification, RoboHelp, XML. |
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KSA286
SD |
Mastering RoboHelp Office (Latest Release) |
$ 16 |
Enroll
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Why pay hundreds of dollars for
basic/intermediate RoboHelp training? Learn the basics of WinHelp,
WebHelp and HTML Help development--plus real world tricks and tips--with
this 200-page tutorial manual. |
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KSA298
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Creating Outstanding Online Help: Principles and Practice (Software
Industry) |
$ 145 |
Enroll
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If you have little or no experience in
creating online help this course is for you. It includes instruction
about basic principals and practices and allows the student to create an
online help system outline with the assistance of a “side-by-side”
editor. NOTE: If you have experience as a Technical Writer - but not
much creating online help - and are looking to enhance your skill set,
another course offering - Creating Outstanding Online Help: A Self
Directed Study - may be more relevant to your needs. |
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KSA299-B
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FrameMaker II: Diving In |
$ 299 |
Enroll
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Create books with multiple files; generate
and format tables of contents and indexes; use cross-references,
footnotes, variables, and conditional text; and convert documents to
other formats, such as Adobe PDF and HTML. You can download the trial
version of this software from the
Adobe FrameMaker product site. |
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